Four in a Week
by GACfan13
Summary: When a new killer in Gotham is murdering citizens faster than the GCPD can keep up, they have to work double time to catch the killer. Problem is, now they've got to deal with a rowdy Oswald that's been turned in by Mooney. Will they postpone a dire case, or hold out on helping someone who still owes Jim a favor that could come in handy?
1. Chapter 1

"James Gordon, I swear to God!" a girl screams, her feet pounding after the man a few paces ahead of her. She's breathing heavily as her pace begins to slow. "James!" She yells again.

The man in front of her stops as the girl falls onto the ground exaggeratedly in mock pain. He laughs at her, not even phased by the mad dash he was just in. "You need to work on running," he remarked, only to get a middle finger aimed his direction. This, of course, only made him laugh more.

Struggling to stand back up, the girl remarks back, "The only reason you can run so well is because the mob wants your head." James grabs her arm and his her back to her feet while she regains her breath.

"Think I don't know that, Kira?" he questions as the girl before him dusts off her dark clothes. He tries to push the idea of the mob as far back as he can but gets interrupted to his phone ringing. When he checks the text message he'd gotten, he informs the girl, "We've got to get back to the station.

Sighing in frustration, Kira whines, "Do we have to run again?" The look on her face is tired and not at all on the mood for anymore of either of her partners' antics. _I swear to god, Jim, if yo- _

Her thoughts are cut off by James's voice, "No, we actually ran in a circle; the car is right around the corner." He smirks at Kira's confused and angered look before turning and beginning to walk towards the car.

Seconds later, he's being tackled to the ground by the feisty blonde girl with teal eyes. "You are a dead man!" she exclaims as James pushes her off of him. The blonde stands back up with her partner and walks back to the car still frustrated.

"Where've you two been?" A man's voice erupts once Kira and James get to their desks at the top of the small flight of stairs. Harvey was standing up at his own desk with his arms folded over his chest, a folder in his hand. He doesn't look in the slightest bit happy; then again, when is he ever happy and sober at the same time.

Shrugging, Kira replies, "Running around Gotham, tackling Gordon in alleyways." She smiles at her partners' baffled looks. "So what do you need?" Kira asks, sitting back in her desk chair.

Harvey shook his head, dismissing the blonde's answer. "Forget I asked," he starts with a sigh, "They found another dead guy at the pier." He throws the file down on his desk with a sigh.

"Are you kidding me, that's the third one this week," Kira exclaims in shock. "Do we even have a lead yet?"

Like Harvey, Gordon shook his head and replies, "No, that's why we need to step up our game. Let's go." He turns and starts walking towards the door, closely followed by Kira and Harvey.

Ducking under the tape block pff, Kira makes a beeline to where she knows the GCPD resident forensic scientist, Ed Nygma. "Hey, Ed," she greets with a smile upon finding the scientist.

Ed looks up at the blonde girl with a smile. "Good morning, Kira," he replies fondly. "How are you?" The scientist takes his attention away from the evidence and looks up at the girl.

"I'm fine," Kira replies with a small smile.

"Four deaths in one week, a week that's only been three days at that," Ed points out, looking back down at the evidence in front of him. "Very odd."

Kira peers over his shoulder at what he had; a baggie full of bullets a piece of blood soaked cloth that had an odd symbol on it. "It's the same one as the other three victims," the blonde tells herself, almost in a whisper. "It is the same guy after all."

Ed looks up at the girl slightly bent over next to him. Her eyes are still watching the evidence, scanning it for more than what it shows. "Yes, it does appear that it is," the scientist agreed with a wide smile. "Same cloth, same symbol, same place, and same bullets. Someone in Gotham has quite the routine."

A small laugh came from Kira's lips and she nodded in agreement. "Was there any DNA on the other three victims, or has the report not come in yet?" She asks, looking back up at Ed.

"No, not quite yet, but they are taking much longer than I'd like in the lab," Ed begins with a pout, "but if I could get in there an-"

Kira scolds he man next to her and cuts him off, "Ed, you know you're not aloud in the coroners office after all the other times you've gone in there." The man frowns at Kira's words, knowing she was right. "Besides, you're better with the experimental science anyway."

Ed laughs and the replies , "Well thank you then."

"Hey, Lovebirds, you wanna work on the case or flirt in your nest?" Harvey's voice calls. The two look up to the him walking towards them with an impatient look. "Ed, you need to check out the body." The scientist nods and stands up before following Harvey back to the body.

With burning red cheeks, Kira shakes her head and sighs, "I swear, Harvey is going to be the death of me if I don't kill him first." She immediately gets up and chases after the two.

Gordon raises an eyebrow at the blonde as she runs over to the body. "What were you doing?" he asks her confused. He gestures to Ed with a questioning smirk, only to get slapped on the face. "Alright, I think I get the memo now."

"Good," Kira mutters agitatedly. She turns to face the body in the same position all the other three had been in. It was another white male dressed in a flannel shirt, black jeans, and dress shoes; safe to say, it wasn't a typical outfit.

Noticing something on the man's neck, Kira walks over to the body curiously. "Ed, have any of the other three victims had necklaces on?" she asks, seeing the gold chain around the man's neck.

With a raised eyebrow, the scientist looks up at the man's neck and frowns. "Not another one," Kira heard him mutter in and extremely silent voice.

"Another what?" the blonde asks, mimicking Ed's raised eyebrow. "Have you seen gold necklaces on the other victims, Ed?"

Taking the necklace off the man with gloved hands and placing it in a bag, Ed responds, "Not a necklace per say, but gold jewelry, particularly women's jewelry." He looks at the diamond on the necklace that had been hidden behind the man's head. "The first victim had a gold earring, the second a gold bracelet, and the third a gold diamond ring"

"So vengeful girlfriend with money to waste?" Kira takes a guess, nothing else coming to mind.

James walks up behind her and scans his eyes over the body. "Couldn't be, none of the men had anyone in common on any contact lists," he points out in the monotone voice that he just loves to turn on while on the job.

Standing up, Kira remarks, "Some people are good at hiding thing, and I don't know if you've noticed, but Gotham doesn't exactly look too much into details like that." She looks over at her partner with a knowing look. "We need to try and see if we can access deleted contacts the four victims have and find a match."

"When did you get so technical with this stuff?" Harvey asks, joining the three by the body. He looks down at Ed. "Anything interesting?"

Shaking his head, Ed responds, "Just another piece of jewelry." He hands the bag to Harvey who just looks it over. "But I've only just started so the possibilities are endless at the moment. Who knows what I could find."

Harvey gives the scientist a grotesque look after the comment before walking off to wherever he seems to go at crime scenes. "Just get something we can work with and maybe identify the guy," he calls over his shoulder as he leaves.

"Let's just get the body to the coroner's, the smell is making me sick," Kira suggests, covering her nose to keep the smell out. She turns away from the body, seeing if the air is cleaner when she knows it's not.

James chuckles at his partner's reaction. "You'd think after the three other bodies, you would've gotten used to it," he remarks with a smirk. He laughs when he sees Kira burning holes in him with her teal eyes. "Ed, make sure the body gets to the coroner's for us," he told the scientist.

Waving goodbye with a smile, Kira turns and leaves with James, still trying to ignore the god awful smell of death and decay the body put off. When she turns back to the slightly taller man next to her, she suggests, "Should we go with him to see if the coroner has anything new on the first three bodies? They might have a match, some people we can interview."

"Kira, are you just looking for an excuse to talk to Ed?" James asks suggestively. He looks at her with a knowing grin, laughing at her shocked expression. After Kira asks why he'd guess that, he responded with, "You know they don't have anything new, why else would you be asking?"

Glaring at her partner again as they reach the car, Kira climbs in, not saying a word about James's remarks. "So I'm right?" James mocks with a laugh.

"No, no shut it," the blonde girl snaps.

The two fall silent as James pulls into the road. It couldn't have been longer than ten minutes before a voice starts playing over the police dispatch radio. "We have Oswald Cobblepot in custody at the police station for four counts of murder," the man's voice says.


	2. A Set Up?

"Oswald Cobblepot? Isn't that the guy that you keep running into, Jim?" Kira asks the man next to her in the driver's seat. When she sees her partner nod, she continues questioning, "I thought he was off the hook for all that crap because of the mob?"

Speeding the car up, James replies, "He is, but maybe something finally clicked in the other guys' heads about the mob needed to get out." He seems more tense to the blonde he's with once the call ends on the radio. His fingers are turning slightly white as he grips the steering wheel and bit tighter and his body becomes stiffer. "It's highly unlikely, but they could've."

The blonde raises an eyebrow as if to say, _Do you really think that is at all possible in any way, shape, or form? _She turns to face the road again and let's out a sigh. "Why do you think he's being brought in? The mob surrendered him maybe?" she asks quizzically, thinking of all the possible causes for the rare dilemma.

"I'm not sure, and quite frankly, I'm not sure we want to know," James replies simply. He's still tense and aware that Kira notices. He feels her looking at him in her peripheral vision, making sure he's okay. "So, you and Ed?"

Kira smacks the man driving as her worried look turns into a glare. "For the love of God, Gordon, I don't like Ed!" she protests angrily. She raises an eyebrow at James as she hears a faint chuckling. His body has already relaxed a bit from laughing at his partner's reaction. "What's so funny?"

After calming down his laughter, James replies, "Well for one, I never said you liked him. And two, stage one is denial, Kira." The girl rolls her eyes at his comment as James pulls into one of the parking spaces outside the station. He sighs, knowing what's coming next as he gets out of the car with Kira.

"You think he's gonna wanna see you, Jim?" the short blonde asks, closing the passenger side door. Her teal eyes are watching the front doors, as if she's waiting for mobsters to come running out with the new arrested Oswald Cobblepot. Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time she'd seen the mob running out of the police station.

Walking through the door, James turns back to Kira and assures her, "I don't doubt it for a second." He keeps walking towards his desk while being followed close behind by his blonde partner. Upon getting back to the desk, there are two other cops holding a scrawny, black haired man in a suit. "Wouldn't go into a cell would he?" James asks, trying not to let an annoyed tone into his voice. The two cops holding the man just nod. "Let him go."

The two exchange confused looks before letting go of the man between them. They walk away as James tries not to look at the man in front of him or his parent giving him a concerned look. "Alright Oswald, what did you do that finally got you arrested?" James asks the black haired man, looking through some of the files on his desk.

"Who's your friend, Jim?" the black haired man asks, the smile apparent in his voice. His eyes are on Kira, who's returning the gaze only with a much more worried expression. Her eyes shift over to James. "Did your girlfriend leave you, or did you replace your partner, Harvey?" the man asks again, waiting for an answer.

Finally looking up at the man, James responded, "This isn't about her. What did you get arrested for? The mob turn you in?" His arms are folded over his chest, a less than amused expression on his face.

The black haired man smiles. "Oh no, I want an answer about your friend," he insists, shaking a finger before pointing at Kira. Both police officers in front of him now wear annoyed expressions, waiting for when he realizes he's not in charge. Unfortunately for them, that wasn't going to happen.

"Kira, now answer the questions," Kira orders, glaring at the man impatiently.

"Fine, Fish Mooney turned me in," the man finally answers the questions. He has an a-matter-a-fact tone as he spoke to the two police officers in front of him. "Felt I needed to "learn a lesson"."

James raises his eyebrow skeptically. "I thought you worked for Maroni? How did Fish get you arrested?" he interrogates further. Before the man can answer, James turns to Kira. "You should go, Kira."

The teal eyed girl scoffed before replying, "I'm a big girl, Jim; I think I'll stay." She doesn't even turn to her partner. She just keeps her eyes on the black haired man in front of her, as if she were scared he would try to make a run for it in a room full of cops.

Once Kira had finished, the man answered the other questions, "Oh, I don't work for anyone, Jim, but I do consider myself an ally. I do believe Miss Mooney may want to get rid of me though." He almost sounds innocent to the two officers, making them even more confused. "Apparently I've done quite a few things to offend her."

"Four counts of murder? Seems highly unlikely that she'd be wrong about that, mobster or not," Kira points out. _There's no way this is coincidence. The mob doesn't just get arrested_, the teal eyed girl thinks to herself.

A scowl on his face, the man in front of Kira replies, "Well right or wrong, she wants to get back at me and possibly the two dons."

Immediately following the response, Kira grabs James's arm and pulls him away from the other man. "Jim, he's pinning this on everyone else. How are we supposed to know who's right?" she whispers, confused as to who to believe.

"That's the problem here, there is no way to know. Cobblepot has told the truth before, but he's good at pinning blame. Mooney's the same way. Hell, for all we know, they could both be pinning things on each other and neither could be telling the truth," James explains, equally confused as Kira. He looks back over at Oswald and frowns, unable to tell whether he's lying or not. "He always wears that damn, know-it-all grin," he mutters to himself.

With a sigh, Kira reminds him, "Jim, we've got to work on this case before we worry about this guy. There's been four deaths and week isn't even over yet! The media already has stories about to be published within the hour. We've got to put this case first and catch this guy before we get four more deaths!" She frowns as James turns to look at Oswald again, contemplating what to go after first. "Jim, please, we've got to end this case."

"I know, Kira, but maybe we can tackle both at the same time. We can deal with Cobblepot and catch this guy," James suggests, gesturing to the man behind him.

The frown stays on Kira's face as she shakes her head. "We can barely deal with one case at a time. Do you have any idea how mad Harvey would get, or how anxious the people of Gotham will be when we can't get this guy fast enough?" Kira points out, arms folded over her chest. "I'm sorry, Jim, but he _have _to get this case off the table soon; we don't have time to deal with this guy."

Sighing, Jim's eyes keep flickering back and forth between his partner and Oswald. "I just don't know, Kira. The mob could be planning something," he argues with a worried look. The tension between the two rises the longer they discuss the problem at hand.

Said tensions drops as James looks over Kira's shoulder. A small smirk forms on his lips and as Kira raises an eyebrow at him. He points over her shoulder and tells her, "Someone's here to see you, Kira."

The blonde immediately turns to find herself only inches away from Ed. The scientist takes a step back with a shocked look. "I-I, sorry, Kira," he apologizes quietly. She shakes off his embarrassment and informs the two, "When we dropped off the body at the coroner's they gave us the names of the first two bodies." He hands Kira a piece of paper and smiles.

"Thanks, Ed," Kira thanks with a shy smile. The scientist immediately turns and walks back to his own office. Turning back to her partner and holding up the paper, she tells James, "Yeah, we're working the case first. Go put Cobblepot in a cell and let's go." The blonde walks past him and back up to her desk.


	3. Maci Lafitte

Once Oswald was in a cell, James joined his blonde partner at her desk. She was looking through files of people the first two victims knew. Safe to say, it was much easier actually knowing who the victims were. "So, what's the plan?" James asks, looking over her shoulder at the files. "Aaron Lafitte?"

Kira nods and keeps flipping through the file. "Yeah, he was the first victim. Lived in a small house with his younger sister, Maci. She just graduated from college in the spring," she explains, finally looking up at her partner. "We've got to go interview her and see if we can find a connection between Aaron and Henry Buzzard."

"Well, let's go then," James tells Kira, walking over to his desk for a second time and grabbing his coat. "We can tell Harvey to meet us somewhere afterwards." He looks over at his partner who's currently stuffing the papers back in the file and putting on her own jacket.

"You can head out to the car, I'll be out in a second," the blonde assures James, getting all the things she needs out. James nods and walks down the steps to the front door. Kira grabs the file and some papers to write on before standing up.

Quick footsteps begin approaching her as Kira starts going down the steps. "Kira, wait!" Turning to the voice, Kira, yet again, finds Ed right in front of her. "The coroner's just sent these extra files on the victims, I thought you might need them," Ed informs the girl in front of him, handing her some papers.

Scanning over the papers she was handed, Kira thanks the scientist, "This is great, Ed, I'll add it to the file I got. Thanks." She gives the scientist a warm smile before putting the papers in the file she's holding. "I'll read over them on the way to the victim's house."

Ed's eyes widen a bit behind his glasses. "You're already going to interview people?" he asks in shock, not used to the officers taking off so quickly.

"Yeah, we want to interview Lafitte's sister, then we'll head to the Buzzard's house. You know, try to find some similarities between the two victims to link them together," Kira explains with a shrug, tucking the beige file under her arm.

Nodding with a smile, Ed responds, "Right, of course. I'll let you get going." He smiles at the blonde happily.

Kira returns his smile and tells him, "I'll see you later, Ed." The girl turns around and begins walking towards the exit.

Once she's in the car, James pulls back out onto the road and asks his partner, "What took so long in there?" He glances over at Kira to find her normally tan cheeks a bright crimson color. She's looking down at the file in her lap with her lips in a small, shy smile. "Something wrong Kira?" The girl's smile falls as her head snaps up to meet James's eyes, seeming to snap out of a trance.

She hums in question, having not heard her partner's questions. "Did you say something?" she questions, voice somewhat more quiet than usual.

Her partner just shook his head with a small smile. _At least someone on the team might end up with a good love life_, James thinks to himself. Eyes on the road, he answers, "No, I didn't say anything. Actually, some directions to the house would be nice, File Hogger."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kira retorts, opening her file to get the map out. The blonde glances up at the streets signs so she can figure out where the two of them are. "Take a left. two rights, and then it should be the only house on the right."

Following her directions, James gets the two of them to the house in just under fifteen minutes. After knocking on the front door, a girl with burgundy hair and extremely dark blue eyes opens the door for the two of them. "Can I help you?" she asks with a worried look. The girl's eyes widen when the two in front of her show her their badges. "Is this about Aaron? Did you find him?"

With a sad look, Kira nods and asks, "Could we come in Miss Lafitte?" The burgundy haired girl lets the two in and leads them to the living room before the three sit down. "Maci, have you heard about the murders that have been going on this week?" After waiting for the girl to nod, Kira continues, "Aaron was the first victim this week. I'm sorry, Maci."

The look on Maci's face is one of shock and heartbreak. Her blue eyes begins to tear up and she covers her face with her hands. "I should've known," she mutters into her hands. She looks up to meet Kira's concerned eyes. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine, I know how you feel," Kira starts, putting a consoling hand on Maci's arm, "You can take all the time you need." She gives her a reassuring smile to confirm what she's saying.

James sits awkwardly next to the two girls, unsure what to say. "Um, we'll need you to come in and confirm its him, but you can wait until you do," he informs the burgundy haired girl. "We do, however, have some questions we need to ask you."

Sighing, Maci runs a hand through her hair and nods. "Alright, what are they?" she asks, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "If you need paperwork or anything, I don't know where it is right now. Aaron reorganized everything while I was in college."

James's light blue eyes look up to meet Maci's of a much darker hue before he begins asking questions. "Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt Aaron?" He asks.

The burgundy haired girl shakes her head, trying to look stronger than she is. "Everyone liked him as I far as I knew," she replies. "He had a couple ex girlfriends, but I never expected they'd do something like this." Her voice becomes silent at the last part, breaking a bit as it did.

"Do you know if he had any sketchy friends that didn't seem quite right to you?" James asks cautiously, not wanting to make the girl sitting on the other couch more worried or scared than she already is.

Digging through the file sitting in her lap, Kira pulls out a picture of the second victim, Henry Buzzard. "Possibly someone you've seen with this man?" the teal eyed girl adds to her partner's question, holding out the picture to Maci.

Maci's deep blue eyes scan the picture, looking to see if she recognized the man. "Is this one of the other victims?" she asks curiously. The two detectives in front of her nod in confirmation. "I feel like I've seen him before; he was an engineer at Wayne Enterprises with Aaron actually. I remember seeing him when I went to visit my brother at work," she recalls, still looking at the picture.

"Wayne Enterprises? That wasn't in your brother's file," Kira points out, a look of confusion on her face. "How long ago did he start working there?"

Thinking back, Maci tries to remember the exact time. "Well, he lost his job right after I graduated and I think he only started as an engineer there about a month ago," Maci answers in remembrance.

James nods and stands up from his seat on the couch. "That should be all for now," he tells the burgundy haired girl. He has a sympathetic look on his face as he leaves.

Watching her partner leave, Kira holds out a piece of paper with a number on it before saying, "Just call if you need anything or when you want to go see your brother. I try to keep my phone on so I should be there whenever you call." She gives Maci a reassuring smile before walking out after her partner.

"What was that about in there?" James asks, slightly confused as Kira gets into the passenger's seat. When she asks what he's talking about, he responds with, "You just seemed like you knew how she felt, like you knew exactly what to do. I've never seen you like that before."

The teal eyes girl shrugs and replies, "I guess I'm just getting better at talking to people." It's a lie of course, but at least it's something better than the truth. "So, where to first, Wayne Enterprises or the Buzzard's?"

With a sigh, James replies, "As much as I want to give more depressing news to another family and talk to uncooperative business men, I've got another place in mind." He turns the car around and begins driving the two to a much less urban part of the city.

The green trees definitely contrast the dull gray of the city that normally surrounded the two, and having never been to that part of Gotham in such a long time, it throws off the teal eyed girl in the passenger's seat. "Hey Jim, where are we going exactly?" she asks, looking out the window in pure confusion.

Her partner remains silent as he pulls up to a large, metal gate. It's only barely blocking the view of the large mansion that was their destination. Kira stares in awe at the mansion, being used to her small apartment. "Holy hell, Wayne Manor," Kira mutters to herself as the gate's open.


	4. Almost?

"Jim, we're at Wayne Manor and they're letting us in. What are you not telling me?" Kira interrogates her partner as she watches the manor come into clearer view. She looks over at her partner with a concerned look. "Jim, have you been here before?"

The car pulls into the curb in front of the manor before he gets out of the car, Kira following in suit. "More than I'd like to admit," he finally replies, adjusting his suit tie. He doesn't make eye contact with her, just continues on his way to the front door, leaving Kira in an extremely confused state by the car.

Upon walking over to meet her partner at the front door, an older man in a suit opens the door. "Detective Gordon, we weren't expecting you here today," the man says in a deep voice. He glances over at the teal eyed girl next to Jim and raises an eyebrow. "And you are?"

James looks over at Kira and answers for her, "This is my partner, Kira Striker." The blonde girl holds out a hand for the man took shake with a smile. "Kira, this is Alfred Pennyworth," he introduces the two.

"Are you here to see Master Bruce, Detectives?" Alfred asks knowingly. When James nods, he leads the two inside to a parlor where a boy who couldn't even be in his teens yet was sitting."Master Bruce, Detectives Gordon and his partner are here to see you."

This immediately catches the boy's attention seeing as he perks up into perfect posture almost immediately. He smiles before standing up and walking over to James. The two shake hands as the boy dismisses Alfred. "Bruce, this is Kira Striker, one of my partners at the GCPD," James introduces for a second time, "Kira, meet Bruce Wayne."

Smiling and shaking Bruce's hand, Kira replies, "It's nice to meet you Bruce."

"Likewise," the boy agrees, returning Kira's bright smile before turning back to James. "What brings you here, Detective? News on my parent's case?" This earns James an immediate curious look from the blonde next to him.

Looking at Kira with a look that tells her to ignore the subject, James responds, "Not quite, but we are here on a case." Bruce invites the two to sit with him as James continues to explain, "There's recently been a string of four murders by the pier on the edge of the city. So far, the first two victims we've identified both worked at Wayne Enterprises as engineers. Seeing as it's impossible to get a direct answer from any officials in this city and you've been doing quite a bit of your own research on your parent's business, I figured you might be able to come up with something."

The look on the young boy's face tells Kira everything. Intrigued, eager, excited to be part of something and helping. She can't help but get a small smile as she watches Bruce jump to grab files from a nearby desk. He reminds her of a child on Christmas morning. "How do you know him?" Kira whispers to James so the younger boy can't hear as he digs through his research.

"I worked on the case for the Wayne murders. Well, I still am, just nobody know about it," James admits to the teal eyed girl. She stares at her partner incredulously before Bruce comes back over and hands James a file. "What all is in this?"

Bruce smiles proudly, yet still trying to remain proper and replies, "It's a list of current workers in Wayne Enterprises engineering section in Gotham. There's also a list of past workers and their jobs. Everyone that had a criminal record before, after, or during their time there's file is also in there."

Staring at the file in awe, the words in Kira's mind accidentally escaped through her mouth. "A kid can make files ten times better than I can." Her mouth was agape slightly in shock as Bruce stood to the side with a smile.

The two detectives look through the file before James closes it. "Is it alright if I keep this for awhile Bruce?" he asks, holding up the file. The boy nods as the two on the couch stand up. After saying their thanks and goodbyes to Bruce, Kira and James head back to their car, James scanning the file again.

"So you're working the Wayne's murder, that is a closed case, and your buddy buddy with their son?" Kira exclaims in shock as she gets in the car. Her eyes are wide as she looks at her partner, waiting for his answer, but, yet again, he's facing the road again and not answering her. "Jim, Jim? Come on, you've gotta tell me!"

Minutes pass of James driving back into the eerie darkness of Gotham before Kira snatches the file from Bruce up from her partner. Teal eyes begin scanning the papers, looking for something on the two other victims she's seen over the past two day or their possible killer. _Who knew so many people in the engineering section had criminal records?_ Kira scoffed in her thoughts.

James glances over at his partner scanning the papers. "Find the other two victims?" he finally speaks up. The blonde just shakes her head and continues looking in silence. "Do you want to head to the Buzzard's?"

"No, Harvey's already talked to them. He texted me earlier," Kira replies in a monotone voice, the same voice she uses when she's engulfed in whatever crazy thing she happens to be doing. "I'm assuming that because of meeting with Bruce we're not going to Wayne Enterprises?"

Scoffing at the thought of going to a place where he knows he wouldn't get any answers, James replies, "Not even if my life depended on it." He heard his partner laugh in the passenger seat as she read the files on the engineering workers. "We're going back to the station, but give me that so I can hide it from everyone."

Before Kira could argue, her partner shushed her and snatched the file back from her. The car pulls up to the station for the third time today, the the two partners getting out immediately after. Screams can be heard from the inside as they get out. _Someone must be getting arrested, _Kira thinks, shaking her head.

The two go inside and confirm Kira's assumptions; there was indeed a man being hauled into a cell by two officers. "Figures," Kira mutters, walking to her desk with James.

Harvey and Ed are both already there before the two come in. Harvey is sitting at his desk with a bored expression while Ed stands next to Kira's, new file in hand. He's still got his classic, wide grin on his face when he's sees Kira walk into the station.

Walking up to him with a warm smile, Kira asks him, "What's this file about, Ed?" She takes the beige file from him Ed holds it out. "More on the first two victims?" Opening the file, she looks through the paperwork with an interested gaze.

"No, actually, these are the next two victims as well; their information got to is a lot faster when the coroner saw how fast the bodies were coming in," Ed replies with a small smile. Said smile falters when he sees the skeptical look on the blonde in front of him. "What's wrong, Kira."

Closing the file and sitting it on her desk, Kira crosses her arms over her chest, still giving Ed a skeptic look. "Ed, did you go to the coroner's office again?" she asks in a worried tone. When the scientist doesn't answer, she asks again, "Ed?"

He struggles to find an answer that won't make Kira worried about him. "Well, I went to go get the papers, but I didn't go into and of the rooms or offices," he admits with a small shrug. "I promise I didn't mess with anything."

"Give the guy a break and sit down, Kira," Harvey calls from his desk, not bothering to look up at the two. This only earns him a glare from his teal eyed partner, which he looks up in time to see. "What, I'm just saying!" he defends himself before looking back down at his work.

The blonde girl shakes her head in frustration. "Thank you again, Ed," she thanks, gesturing to the file she put on her desk. "I'll start looking into it."

Nodding, Ed smiles and turns around, starting back to his office. A few minutes later, Kira runs after him and calls his name to get his attention. When he turns to face her, she asks, "So tomorrow, I've got the day off tomorrow and my roommates not going to be back in town until Thursday. Do you, by any chance, want to hang out tomorrow?" She gave him a hopeful, shy smile, trying to hide her red cheeks.

The scientist looks quite taken back by the girl's question. He gives her a confused look as her smile begins to falture in worry. "I, umm, I," he stutters in shock, "I would like that." He and Kira exchange the same shy smiles.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Kira infers. Once Ed nods in confirmation, the blonde turns and walks back to her desk, a dumb, love struck grin on her face. Neither of her partners question it as Kira begins to look through the file Ed had given her.

The two men exchange smiles, knowing what had just happened between Kira and Ed. Sure the two of them constantly mocked the two, but seeing Kira happy the way she is with Ed only made them feel like proud mothers would for their kids.

Four hours later, the GCPD was practically abandoned except for three detectives, Kira, Gordon, and Harvey. The three had opted to stay a bit longer and work on their case more before leaving. They were also waiting for officers to come in to take the night shift. They kept working until Harvey almost passed out at his desk when the clock hit eleven pm, much to Kira and James's amusement.

Closing one of the many files of paperwork on her desk, Kira handed them to James to work on the next day seeing as she wouldn't be there. She grabbed the black trench coat sitting on the back of her chair and stood up from her spot. "I'll see you guys on Thursday," she told the two, slipping the jacket on over her arms.

"Aww, you're not gonna go drinking with Jim and I?" Harvey asks the girl mockingly. He leans on his hand to keep himself from falling over and into a deep sleep. To Kira, he already looked drunk before going to a bar.

The teal eyed girl rolled her eyes chuckling. "Sorry, Harvey, I think I'm gonna have to pass. I've got a cup of hot chocolate and cake waiting for me at home," Kira gloats as she buttons up her jacket and starts for the exit. "So, again, I'll see you guys Thursday." The two men said their goodbyes as Kira walked out the front door and to her car.

Well, _almost _to her car.


	5. The Golden Badge

A hand goes over Kira's mouth with a rag covering it as she places her hand on the door handle. Gasping, the teal eyed girl breaths in whatever is on the rag. _Chloroform_, she identifies immediately, but all too late. She feels her eyelids grow heavy and the rag over her face keeps her from screaming. All she hears is a man's voice, "You should have waited for the night shift, gorgeous."

"Where's Kira?" James asks frantically, coming up the stairs to his desk. The clock on it read 8:24 am. His eyes are darting around, looking for traces of the girl while a highly hungover Harvey looks up at him with red eyes. "How long were you out drinking?"

The older man takes a sig from his metal flask. "Couple hours," he slurs in response. "And Kira's got the day off today, remember. She's off with Ed somewhere." The man is supporting himself on a propped up arm as he looks through his folder that he's not even reading.

James walks over and shuts the file with a frustrated look. "That doesn't explain why her car is still outside, Harvey!" he argues, pointing out the window to Kira's black Chevrolet parked outside the station. "She left last night and she didn't take her car. I don't care if you're drunk or not, that's gotta seem sketchy."

Looking up at James, Harvey's eyes widen a bit, the hangover wearing off as he listens to the subject. He looks past his younger partner to indeed find Kira's car sitting right outside. "Why the hell would she just leave it here?" he asks in a confused tone.

Shrugging with a frustrated look, James walks around, as if he were trying to sort things out for himself. "I have no idea, but we've got to go find her. Now." He grabs his coat quickly as Harvey bolts up to stop him. "What? We've got to go get her."

"Look, Jim, I'm worried about the kid too, but we've got two things we've got to worry about, Cobblepot and this case," he explains, holding up a file. "Maybe we should just send another team out to get her and focus on this case for a little longer."

An incredulous look crosses James's face as he stares down his partner. "Leave her out there while we find another group to get her? Harvey this could be the guy we're looking for that has her!" he exclaims angrily. The fury in his eyes is evident and he speaks more about the subject.

Harvey stands up and gestures to the folder full of victims before pointing out, "Jim, these guys were all engineers at Wayne Enterprises. I'm not sure if you realized this, Kira is a detective for the GCPD!"

Other detectives that are hearing the argument turn to look at their two colleagues from their desks. Soon the argument catches the attention of everyone in the room until the woman in charge, Sarah Essen, pulls to the detectives into her office to find out what's going on.

"What the hell are you two yelling about out there?" she questions in an angry tone. She doesn't look at all pleased with the two men she's dragged into her office. "And where's Kira to make you two come to a compromise?"

With a small sigh, James replies, "That's what the argument was about. Kira has the day off but her car is still outside from last night. She could be in trouble."

Sarah looks at the two in confusion, wondering what they were waiting for. "So you haven't gone after her why then? Or did you not even call her yet?" the woman asks, folding her arms over her chest. Harvey looks at his partner expectantly, waiting for him to tell her they didn't.

"Well no, but why else would her car still be here?" James counters, arms mirroring Sarah's. "She lives on the other side of Gotham; there's no way possible she could walk home."

Shaking her head, Sarah holds out a hand. "Give me your phone, Gordon," she instructs James immediately hands the device over from his pocket. She presses the buttons to call Kira's cell phone. They wait in painstakingly long silence until the answering machine plays. "That's odd, she always picks up."

As James takes the phone back, Harvey speaks up, "We've got a case to work on though; there could be another dead guy at the pier any second now." He's not wrong and James and Sarah sadly know that fact all too well.

Thinking for a second, Sarah points out, "And that 'dead guy' could be your partner, Harvey." Following the comment, Harvey receives an 'I told you so' look from James as he only gets to glare in response. "She might now fit the profile, but that doesn't mean this guy can't target a cop that's targeting him. You two need to go find her; if another body pops up at the pier, I'll call you."

The two men nod before walking out of her office sighing. They grab their coats and hats before walking out of the station. "We should probably start with her car," James suggests as he walks towards the shiny, black car.

"Do you think she ever made it to the car?" Harvey asks, feeling his hangover beginning to come back. He walks around to the driver's side of the car and noticed something shining on the ground. "I could be wrong."

Perking up from the other side of the car, James walks over and looks down at what Harvey had found; Kira's police badge. "Damn," he mutters under his breath, picking up his partner's badge only for a picture to fall out.

The picture falls to the ground before Harvey notices. Finally her picks it up and asks in confusion, "What's this supposed to be?" In the picture, there's a boy in a purple high school graduation cap and gown holding a rolled up paper in his hand. Next to him, there's a younger, teenage girl he's holding onto in a white dress and glasses on top of her teal eyes. The two are looking at the camera with wide, happy grins on their faces.

James looks over Harvey's shoulder at the picture over Harvey's shoulder. "Looks like Kira as a kid," he says with a small smile. "I don't think I've ever seen any old pictures of her on her desk or apartment."

"I can't believe she's kept in her badge all these years," Harvey remarks, handing the picture to James to put away in Kira's badge. Getting back to finding out where his partner is, Harvey points out, "She would never just drop her badge you know. It's like she got that damn thing tucked away and sewed into her coat. It never would've just fallen out like this."

The golden badge shines as James examines it under the light. "The killer always leaves something gold," he reminds himself in a hushed tone. Knowing that the killer wouldn't have time to haul her away and then leave the badge before the night shift workers got there, he continues, "He must have knocked her out while she was getting in her car last night and left her badge out as the gold."

His older partner is raising an eyebrow at him as he speaks before asking, "Do you honestly already think this is out guy?" The look on his face is one of a yet to be convinced man. The same man who is now searching the car for any signs of a struggle and tuning James out.

"It could be possible," James points out, "We've already got the gold he always leaves behind." He gestures to the badge he's holding out in his hand as Harvey continues looking.

Harvey finally looks up at James and retorts, "The gold was _on _the victims and was jewelry. A police badge isn't exactly jewelry last time I checked." He sighs in frustration as he tries to find evidence on the car. "You know, as much as I hate to say it, maybe we should call in Ed to come help us out; maybe he'd have better luck than us."

Around half an hour after that comment, Ed is at the entrance of the GCPD waiting for James and Harvey. The anxious look and grin on his face gives away his excitement for his plans later on. Finally, he catches sight of the two detectives and walks up to them before asking, "What did you two need me for?"

Suddenly, James realizes hes going to have to spoil the scientist's plans for the day. "Well, last night, Kira left the station late while we were working on the case. This morning, her car was still parked outside where she'd left it," he points out the window to the car, "and nobody can find or get a hold of her," James breaks the news with an apologetic frown.

Following the explanation, Harvey walks over with Kira's police badge. We think our guys got her. We found this 'gold' outside the driver's door," he explained, handing Ed the glimmering badge. "We thought you could see if there's anything we missed on the car or badge."

All excitement that was on the scientist's face has now disappeared upon hearing the news. Ed looks down at the badge in his hands sadly. "I'll go look into it," he assures the to before retreating to his office, trying to hold back a frown.

"I actually feel pretty bad for the kid," Harvey admits with a sigh. "Two of them might have actually had fun today." The last part he speaks in a much quieter voice than his first comment, trying not to let James hear.

Teal eyes scan the dark room in horror as a blonde girl finally wakes up. She's strapped to a chair in a room with blood tinted walls. She can still faintly smell chloroform and assumes there's some in the room. Stuck in the rank smelling room she pulls at the bonds holding her hands down to no avail. The blonde becomes more and more frantic, only wanting to escape the nightmare room she found herself in.

Then there's a new sound from her left, a door opening. The brace holding her head down keeps her from turning her head the see the person coming in. "Don't struggle too much, might hurt yourself," a man's voice warns her, only infuriating her more. "Kira, right? Kira Striker? Oh I hope little Kyle is watching right now so he can see what I did to him happen to his baby sister."

The teal eyes focused on the ceiling practically ignite into a fire. Pulling at the bonds harder than before, the girl's only intent is to punch the man next to her as hard as she can and possibly rip his throat out. _Here, he's been hiding here the whole goddamn time? _the girl's mind screams. "Makes you mad, huh? Well then you'll be happy to know that Kyle died in this chair like you will; hell, some of the blood on the walls is his," the man's voice speaks again with a chuckle. "But maybe, just maybe, your little cop friend's will come save you. Let's see how much they actually care about you."

A blood curdling screams erupts from the girl's lungs as metal meets the skin of her side and stabs into it.


	6. Warehouse on the Pier

"Where the hell are you going?" James calls after his older partner as he chases him to his car. "You've gotta answer me at some point!" Before he can into the passenger's side of the car, Harvey's already in the driver's seat and has all the other doors locked. The exasperated detective bangs on the window with the expression of a man who has already had enough for one day. Problem was, it isn't even noon yet.

The police car pulls out of the parking garage without James. Shaking his head, James wanders back into the station, trying to figure out what to do to help find his partner. "Finding things was always Kira's and Ed's thing," he mutters to himself, setting the file he intended to leave Harvey with on his desk. He still has the file from Bruce tucked away safely in one of his desk drawers. "Maybe Ed's got something by now."

With that, the detective walks down to the scientist's office. He knocks on the already open door as Ed tells him to come in. "Anything yet, Ed?" James asks, walking into the room and over to the table that has all the evidence on it. However, he knows all too well that evidence doesn't always mean answers.

Ed stumbles over his desk for a second before regaining himself. "No, not quite yet," he replies, seeming more distant than usual. When James asks what's wrong he just shrugs and replies absentmindedly, "Nothings wrong, just busy with trying to find Kira is all."

He's quiet, too quiet for James's liking, but he doesn't press on the subject at all. "Alright, just tells me when you find something," he tells the man with a fake smile before walking out and back up to his desk. _Why is it so empty today? Ed's out of it, Kira's missing, Harvey's God knows where. How the hell am I supposed to work this case? _James's thinks to himself, sitting down at the wooden desk and putting his head in his hands.

Shaking, there is so much shaking. Ever since the man, no, the killer, left, shaking is all Kira can do as she's strapped down to the metal chair. The cold air hits the open cuts going down her sides, only making her shiver more. All the girl wants to do is go into fetal position and cry out in pain.

There are tears flowing down her cheeks as she cries in silence though. _He has to be lying, he didn't kill Kyle; it couldn't be him. Kyle died in college, there's no way, _Kira thinks, more tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. The more she thinks of her brother, the more her mind retreats from the thoughts of her torn up, bloodied shirt.

The knife he'd been using thankfully didn't hurt anything vital, but that doesn't mean the pain doesn't exist. And damn there was pain as it took all of Kira's strength to not scream out in pain again. The blonde girl wasn't sure how much blood she's lost. Not enough to feel sick or lightheaded though, which at this point, she wouldn't mind. Her entire mind is just focused on two things, Kyle and the sharp pains in her side.

Leather binds are still holding her arms, legs, and head down. Her arms are sore from struggling with the bonds for so long and her throat is raw from screaming while she was being carved into. Everytime she moves, it just causes pain to shoot through her entire body. Although, not knowing where she was only makes her want to stretch her legs and get the hell out of wherever she is even more.

There aren't any windows to shine lights in that tell her what time it is. Being strapped down on the metal table for God knows how long makes it seem like an eternity for Kira; a painstakingly long eternity at that.

Safe to say, it certainly isn't the loss of blood that is making her feel nauseous as she lays in the table, it's the smell. The stench is that of chloroform and blood. _Kira's _blood.

Where is she? Where are her partners? How long has she even been in this God forsaken room? Who is the man's that claims to be bee brother's killer? These are the multiple questions running through Kira's head as she tries to set the thoughts of pain and Kyle aside.

"Here about Cobblepot, Harvey?" a woman asks slyly as she sits at the booth with the detective. She looks as though she has the answers and comebacks rehearsed for what she thinks the topic of interest is.

Setting down his hat on the table in front of him, Harvey responds, "Sorry, Fish, can't say I am." He smirks as her look of sly comfort falls from her makeup coated face. "I'm here about a different case. My partner was kidnapped and I get the feeling you know where she is."

Fish raises an eyebrow at the man with a puzzled look. "_She_?" Fish asks, "Who are we talking about here, Harvey, because it doesn't sound like Jim." Leaning forward with interest, she listens to the man closer.

"Kira Striker, she was kidnapped last night outside the station. Quite frankly, I think you know her and where she is," Harvey accuses, crossing his arms over his chest with a solid glare at Fish. "So, where's my partner?"

Leaning back in her seat surprised by the outburst, Fish defends herself in a taken back manor, "Harvey, I have no idea what in th-" She stops herself mid sentence and looks away as if she were recalling something. "Blonde girl, mostly black clothes?" Harvey nods with a bitter look before Fish waves over one of her goons, Butch. "Tell the detective what you saw."

The large man looks over at Harvey before explaining, "Saw a guy carrying her into the alley last night around midnight. Put her in the passengers' seat of his van before driving off with her."

Harvey stands up in a fit of rage, eyes boring into Butch. "And you didn't think to follow them?" he yells, "Where the hell did he take her?" His fists slam down on the table in rage, making Fish and Butch jump in surprise. There's practically fire in Harvey's eyes as he looks at the two mobsters. "Well, where?"

Butch walks over to Harvey's side of the table and motions for him to follow. The two men walk out into the back alley behind the club. "Right over there," Butch points down the alley, "that's where he has the van at. Backed it out behind us and drove down the left side of the road," Butch explains, pointing the directions he was explaining.

Nodding, Harvey follows the directions with his eyes and asks, "Recognize the guy that took her at all?" The larger man shakes his head before Harvey sighs. "Alright then." He walks out of the alley and over to his car without another word to the mobster.

"Great, van; always fun times with vans," Harvey mutters, getting into his car. Being as much of a fan of having back up as he is, he begins driving in the direction of the station to pick up his clueless partner.

It doesn't take very long at all to get back to the station and find James and Ed talking. Harvey walks up to the two and states, "I found out what we're looking for." The two men just look up at him in shock upon hearing the words.

There was an incredulous look on James's face as he looks at his partner from his seat. "Where'd you go to find that out?" he asks in confusion. When he thinks further into the matter, he realizes the answer. "Mooney's," the detective infers with a sigh and leans back in his chair. "That's where you've been this whole time?"

Harvey just nods in confirmation as he sits at his desk. "If she saw you, she'd kill you." The man points at Ed and asks him, "What did you have for us?" Judging from his tone of voice and frustration, the two before him could tell he just wants answers and a much needed drink.

"I, umm, I don't have anything yet," Ed confesses with a slight stutter. "He's good at getting around infecting crime scenes I suppose. I'll go back down and look more." He turns, preparing to leave silently.

Sighing, Harvey stops him, "Ed, wait, don't overwork yourself. Just stay up here and sit down or something, alright?" He looks down at the map he'd fished out of his desk. Tracing Butch's directions with his finger on it. "I think I know where our guy might be hiding Kira."

Ed and James both look up at the older man in surprise yet again. "What? Where?" James asks, standing up from his desk and rushing over to Harvey's. His gaze scans the paper and land on where Harvey is pointing. "Warehouses by the pier, it's always warehouses by the pier, isn't it?"

"Not until you got here anyway," Harvey remarks as he stands and shrugs his coat on, but James is already running out the door. "Stay here and wait for us to get back, Ed," he orders the scientist before running after James.

"Seriously, couldn't wait for me to get backup or anything? Let alone get out of my chair?" Harvey complains as he climbs in the passenger seat with his younger partner. "If we get shot, I blame you."

Scoffing, James retorts, "I'd be worried if you didn't." He drives the car from its parked position and follows Harvey's directions to the warehouse.

When the two get out at the pier, the sun is setting and the smell of the disgusting, chemical infested water is lingering in the air. Having parked further back from the warehouse to keep their arrival secret, they walk down to the warehouse as quietly as they can, hoping their partner's captors hadn't heard the car coming. Their guns are out at the ready as the approach the warehouse's open doorway.

"Why the hell is it open?" Harvey whispers from the opposite side of the door James is on. He peeks his head in the slightest bit with a confused expression "I don't see anything in there." Staying as low and out of sight as he can, Havery walks a few steps into the warehouse, scanning the room before announcing its clear to James.

The younger detective walks in with an equally confused look. The two check every inch of the warehouse in attempts to find another room, Kira, or her captors; no luck.

With an exasperated expression, James confirms, "We've got the wrong place."


	7. The Barbershop

The detectives stand dumbfounded in the warehouse until James manages to snap out of his confusion and lead Harvey back to the car. The sun had almost completely set on the pier by the time the two reach the car. The temperature has also gotten colder and James turns on the car's heater in response.

"I can't believe its the wrong place. Where else could she be?" Harvey mutters under his breath in confusion. He's staring out at nothing as James drives the car away from the pier and sunset.

A phone begins ringing in James's pocket as they drive. "Hello?" he asks after picking the phone up and answering it. "Sarah, what's wrong?" Harvey motions for him to put it on speaker and James complies.

"They found another body at the pier. I got Ed to tell me where you were. Unless you're almost here, it shouldn't be too far from you," Sarah explains, but there's a worried tone in her voice. "Ed is already there to meet you," a pause, "And Jim, they found a woman." Then, there was silence as the three on the phone let what they had heard and said sink in.

After thanking Sarah to break the silence, James hangs up the phone and turns the car to head to the crime scene. "Do you think it's her?" James asks, a stern look on his face.

The tension in the air is strong around the two as they thought of the subject. Neither Harvey nor James are ones to be sad or mournful. They are mad, furious, wanting nothing more than to hunt down the man responsible and kill him on the spot.

Harvey doesn't respond to James's question as the two arrive on the scene and get out of their car. A man looks back and walks over to them with a relieved look, Ed. The two look at him expectantly as he informs them, "It's not her. The eyes aren't teal."

A surprised look crosses Harvey's face as he hears Ed's reasoning before continuing to the body with James and Ed. It makes their hearts wrench at the sight of the girl. Even though they know it isn't their partner, the sheer fact that she looks so much like Kira, it killed them.

"Here's the kicker though, the blonde hair isn't natural and these clothes don't even fit her," Ed points out as he gestures to the woman. "The eyes look teal, but they're contacts. The clothing sizes are Kira's, not this woman's. Someone spent a lot of time to make this person look exactly like Kira."

James looks over the body in confusion. The clothes do indeed not fit the woman. "Why would they do this? Trying to prove a point?" James asks in confusion before noticing a small note hanging out of the woman's jacket pocket. He picks it up from the pocket and reads it. _Hurry, hurry detectives. Your little princess is counting on you_.

The note is passed to Harvey who scans it before an extremely angry look takes over. There's also a scared look on Ed's face as he worries about what's going on and on the note. "I'm gonna kill this son of a bitch!" Harvey screams in rage, the not now balled up in fist. "Little asshole taunting us like this. I'm gonna kill him."

"Just see if you can try to find some prints or something on the clothes without overworking yourself," James instructs Ed with a sigh, completely ignoring Harvey raging next to him. Before the two detectives can leave though, Ed stops them. "What is it, Ed?"

The look on Ed's face is telling a completely different story from what he says. It's begging for answers, for Kira as he tells them, "That's not all there is on the body." He flips the coat off the side of the body to reveal massive blood stains. He then lifts the shirt up to show completely smooth, untouched skin. "There's blood on the shirt, but no marks from injury. This is Kira's blood." He looks worried, scared, sad, wanting answers for why all that's happening is, but there are none, not yet.

Four hours later and the detectives are back at the station. It's nearing ten o'clock as they look over evidence and files for what must be the thousandth time tonight. They're both tired and on the verge of passing out on their desks. Harvey has the files laid off to the side as his fingers trace the map. _Out the alley and to the left_, he thinks to himself. _Left_. He thinks back to Mooney's when he was in the alley with Butch. When he had said left, he was facing the other way. "That son of a bitch," he mutters loud enough for James to hear.

Tired eyes look up at the man confusion. "What's wrong, Harvey?" James asks with a yawn. He's leaning against his propped up arm for support as he looks through his own files from Bruce. The files have no need to be worried about seeing as they are the only ones currently in the station.

"Son of a bitch tricked me," Harvey accuses. "He wasn't facing left when he said left. He pointed us in the wrong direction." Immediately, Harvey is wide awake and thumbtacks his map to the board they have set up next to their desk. He's scanning the map, trying to find nearby places the man could be hiding before thinking back to the precision the killer had with the newest victim. "Hey, look up someone with a cosmetology background would you?"

Soon, the two have narrowed it down to two people. Their mug shots are both tacked next to the map along with multiple other potential locations they could be hiding Kira. Both men are now completely awake as they work the case together. The ideas flow through their heads by the seconds as they pin more and more evidence to the board. At this point, it could be either of the suspects they have pinned up; the hard part is figuring out which one.

James looks at the map and then one of the suspects, Garvan Collins, and points out, "Collins used to run the now abandoned hairdresser's two streets over from Mooney's. Wouldn't surprise me if he still had an extra key." He tries to find more connections as Harvey begins looking into their other suspect, Brandon Frank.

"You know, Frank's got some storage rentals booked up, he could have her there," Harvey counters and points to a spot on the map a few streets away from Fish's club. "It could really be either of them to be quite honest. Both convicted felons, cosmetologist, creepers."

Sighing, James looks at both the men's files again. He stares at the two and retreads the paper multiple times for around ten minutes. During this time, Harvey is wandering around, completely puzzled as he does so. Then, something catches James's attention. "Hey Harvey, Collins wasn't just a convicted felon. He was convicted for the murder of Kyle _Striker_." He passes the file to his partner to read.

Eyes widening, Harvey looks at the paper in amazement before going to Kira's to find a file. It takes a minute, but he eventually finds a file titled _Kyle Striker Case_. Upon opening the file, a picture of the same man from Kira's badge stands out to the two. "This is the same guy. This guy killed Kira's brother and probably took her because he knew who she was!" Harvey exclaims as he puts the puzzle pieces together at last.

"Do you think they're both there now?" James asks his older partner with a raised eyebrow. "Or that Kira knows who this guy is?" He seems scared of the idea, Kira knowing. She could be going crazy on thoughts of her brother or his killer for all James and Harvey. Before this, they couldn't do anything about it; though, this isn't true anymore.

Three times. Three times she's been sliced and screaming no matter how scratchy her throat could become. He's drugged her, sliced her, drugged her again, changed her into an extremely short blue dress, and sliced her again. The pain kills her and would undoubtedly leave terrible scars in their wake.

How much more of this could she even take? How much longer could it last? Where are James and Harvey? More questions she can't answer for herself. Her eyes are dry and unable to make tears as she questions herself. Undoubtedly she won't have a voice for at least a week after getting out of here. _If _she gets out of here.

"Dammit, Jim, hurry the hell up," she mutters in her scratchy voice. Its hell on her throat as she does. "I know you're watching, you ass! Just come kill me already!" she chokes out in pain. "Get it over with!"

_Bang, bang, bang! _There's pounding on a door, but not the one in the room she's in. A terrified look crosses Kira's face as she hears the scuffle outside the room.

Metal creaks instantly following the noises. The noise of air in pipes enters the rooms. Instantly, air begins seeping into the room all around Kira and she looks around in a panic. The substance gets into her lungs and her head rests against the table she's on. She's asleep on in mere minutes as the chaos outside continues.

"It should be a little further down the road," Harvey informs James as they drive down the street. He points out a small shop with an, old, broken down barbershop pole. The car pulls over into a parking spot next to the barbershop before the two detectives get out of the car. Once the two have gotten ready to go in, Harvey knocks on the door to the abandoned building rather loudly. No answer. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way."

The door is immediately is kicked down by Harvey and the two enter the building with their guns drawn. The room around them is dark and empty of all life. There is one thing that stands out though, the room looks as though everyone had just up and left, leaving their things in place. The room is coated in a thick layer of dust, but there are two things that aren't, the floor and a pair of scissors sitting on a shelf by the door to the basement.

When they find the room completely empty, they go to open the downstairs door. "Locked," James mutters, messing with the doorknob. He bangs on the door to get someones attention. He, like Harvey, waits for a reply before kicking down the door to signal their arrival. "You ready to go down there?" Not waiting for a response, he begins down the stairs with his gun drawn.

Its empty on the bottom floor, nobody in sight as the two enter the room. James walks to the corners of the room to check for someone before getting hit in the back of the head. The detective lets out a yell of warning to his partner before turning and punching the man in the face. Its Collins and there's a man already on Harvey, attempting to pin him up against the wall, Frank. Harvey manages to push the man off and look over at James in surprise.

"They're working together?" he questions in surprise as Frank attempts to pounce on him again. Collins does the same to James, but he is easily taken down by the stronger cop he's fighting. "Where's the girl?" Harvey questions again, shoving Frank into the wall.

The man shoves Harvey back and pulls the lever next to him before he and Collins pull guns out. "You'll never find her detectives," Frank tells the two men. The detectives look at the two men opposite of them in confusion. When they final realize what's about to happen, they points the guns at their heads and pull the triggers. Harvey and James stare at the scene in shock as a sick feeling enters their stomachs.

Attempting to shake it off, Harvey turns himself and James away before instructing, "We've got to find Kira. Move stuff around, whatever, just find her." He stops and looks back at the two mens' bodies. "Don't turn around; I'm going to go back upstairs and call for backup here to get the mess cleaned up. Maybe they'll help us find Kira quicker." He sighs before going upstairs to call for backup.

Within twenty minutes, some of the night shift and two ambulances show up to clean the scene. They can sense the dread and tiredness Harvey and James resonate as they help them attempt to find Kira. There's only one problem, after searching the entire building and pushing back all the boxes, they can't find a door that leads to Kira.

**So, I just wanted to let all of you know, I haven't had reviews, follows, or views in general on any of my stories as fast as they're come on this one. I haven't been writing very far into any of my stories except this one and I love writing it for you guys and I love the responses I'm getting. I just wanted to thank you guys for reading this story and liking, following, or reviewing. It means a lot to me and I really wanted to thank you guys for it. **


	8. The Plug

There's a lingering depression in the basement of the barbershop as James wanders around in defeat. The backup and ambulances have left the scene and gone back to their respected places. It is just James and Harvey left now, still trying to find some clue to where their partner is. It's the early morning, at least one in the morning, but neither of the detectives bother to check.

Eventually, a box is shoved out of pure rage by James while he looks in the basement by himself. His eyes are like flames and he looks as though he's prepared to rip his own hair out. His foot stomps on where the box was, producing and extremely hollow sound. Looking down, all rage now replaced by confusion, James raises an eyebrow at the puddle of blood he's standing in. The two men who'd killed themselves blood.

That's when he sees it. An outline of a door in the ground cut like cracks to seem less suspicious. His eyes go wide and he yells for Harvey as loud as he can. "Bring something like a lever!" he calls up to Harvey before his partner can come down.

Minutes later, Harvey comes back down with the scissors from before. James sticks it down in one of the cracks before using it to make the door pop open. The only thing that greets them is the darkness of the room.

The substance used to drug Kira and worn off in the almost two hours since it had been turned off. The lights turn on in the empty room as James and Harvey come down and find the switch. While James is facing the switch, Harvey is looking straight ahead at Kira on the table laying unconscious. He immediately runs to the girl, followed by James when the other man notices.

"Assholes locking her up like this," Harvey complains to himself, trying to find a switch to get rid of the metal bonds. Eventually, he finds it on the underside of the table. It's just a small button locking and unlocking the metal bonds, but it sure as hell works.

James can't help but stare at the gaping hole in Kira's dress where instead of blue dress, there's dried blood. He attempts to ignore that fact and goes back to checking his younger partner's vitals. Not showing it, the man is terrified on the inside as he watched his partner lie unconscious.

Behind him, Harvey is on the phone with Sarah again saying, "Yeah, we need another ambulance. We found her but she's not in good shape." He glances back at his partner with a frown as something he was thinking slips from his mouth. "Poor kid, didn't deserve what she got."

"No, she didn't, did she?" Sarah comments quietly. The clicking of her calling an ambulance on another phone is evident to Harvey as he watches James and Kira. The blonde girl's head is facing the side now that there's no a brace holding it in place. Her cheeks are stained from all of her tears, her hair is a mess, and she just looks beat up in general. "There's another ambulance on the way right now," Sarah interrupts Harvey's thoughts.

Hanging up the phone and putting it in his pocket, Harvey walks over to his partner's limp body with James. "She's got a pulse, I'm just not sure for how long," James tells Harvey silently. The younger detective sighs as he hears the siren's of an ambulance mere minutes later. Soon, Kira is loaded into the back of the vehicle and taken to the hospital, leaving her two partner's to either go home or keep searching.

Deciding to do both, Harvey and James collect more evidence before loading into the car for what had to be the fifth time that day. Not long after, James is dropped off outside of his apartment building and Harvey is driving off to what James assumes will be quite a long night of drinking for his partner.

Pounding, darkness, chemicals, pain. These are the things Kira feels as she lays motionless on her cotton white hospital bed. "I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't think she'll make it; her injuries in her side and organs are too severe," she faintly hears a voice speak as she tries to move. The confusion builds in Kira's head as she wonders why she can' move, but then she hears the female voice again. "I know its hard, but you're the only name on her emergency contacts. If anyone makes the choice to pull the plug, it has to be you."

_Who is she talking about? What's going on here? _Kira questions as she struggles to move. Then, there's another voice, Ed. "Thank you." He's quieter than the woman, sadder. It breaks her heart to hear him like that. There are footsteps coming towards her and a bit of scuffling. "I'm sorry Kira, I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner." The scientist's voice is breaking and Kira can almost hear a slight sobbing. She just wants to reach out and hold the scientist, no, _her_ scientist. "Please, just be okay, please."

"Ed, you've been here everyday for a week, go home and get some sleep," James's voice instructs after his footsteps enter the room. He sighs when he sees Kira and pats Ed on the shoulder in a small condolence. When Ed doesn't move, he frowns and pulls up a chair next to him. "What'd the nurse say?" Ed doesn't answer. This leads the two to sit in silence as they watch their friend unconscious in her hospital bed.

Finally, after almost ten minutes of silence, Ed speaks up, "I could've saved her. If I hadn't been so distracted I could've saved her." James glances over at the teary eyed man with a frown, feeling the same way he is. He doesn't say anything, just puts a hand back on Ed's shoulder and nods in agreement. What could he say, some cheesy movie line? It wouldn't work, it never does. It's all just false hope every time its said.

"I can't make the choice to pull the plug, Jim. I can't bare to live without her, but the last thing I ever wanted was for her to suffer," Ed explains in protest. How can anyone live with a decision like this; having someone else's life in your hands. Putting his head in his hands, Ed shakes his head, unsure as to what he should do. "How do you pull the plug on someone you love?"

Taken back, James looks at Ed in surprise. Sure, he knows that Kira and Ed like each other, but he never expected to hear the words be spoken. Edward Nygma loves Kira Striker, his partner and practically his little sister. Its the thing that everyone in the GCPD's predicted, but never expects to actually happen considering the two's stubbornness. Why does it have to be spoken for such a terrible reason?

Then there's Kira, trapped inside her own head. She's falling apart as she hears Ed's words. She wants to return them, to hug him, hell to kiss the freaking idiot she calls a coworker, but she can't, and she might not ever get to. He _loves _her; something Kira's never been able to tell him. _Why, why now? Why can't I wake up and say I love him too? I can't just die without telling him! _her head screams in protest.

"Jim, I deal with people after they die, I can't deal with deciding if one dies; especially not her," Ed practically sobs as he holds onto Kira's hand. He's lost control of himself as he holds onto the one thing that's kept him sane all these years.

With a sigh, James replies, "You've got time to think about it, Ed. Don't beat yourself up over it all at once." There's a pause in his words as he tries to figure out what else to say. "Go home and think, okay? I'll drive you home and then come back and stay and watch her here."

Finally, the scientist stands, releasing Kira's hand and drying the tears that are forming in his eyes. He nods in compliance as James leads him out of the room, leaving Kira alone in her head again. She's still screaming and crying out for help, not wanting to be left alone in the darkness again. Its too late though, Ed and James are almost to the car, preparing to leave the teal eyed girl in her room until James can return.

Kira's mind begins to fade again, but she tries to cling to it, wanting to wait for James. Her mind, however, doesn't comply and forces her to fade back into the darkness of her coma, unable to fend for herself or care for those she herself cares about so much.


	9. Planned From the Start?

"Is it done, Butch?" Fish asks as the larger man walks into the room. When he nods, a wide, sinister smile grows in her face. "Did they find the girl?" Another nod. "How is she doing then?"

Walking over to her, Butch replies, "She's at the hospital, has been for a week. Heard she was in a coma and on life support." Fish just laughs in glory at the news as Butch just smiles.

Fish stands up from her booth once she's stopped laughing. "Good, now we just need to make sure that the real killer isn't found and she doesn't wake up. We do that, we're good as gold!" she strategies. Walking back to the bar, she grabs her waiting drink with a satisfied smirk.

"Wonder what they'll think when they find out the stuff on Collins's file wasn't actually his stuff," Butch ponders with a grin. He's proud of himself, they both are. It would be sickening to anyone but them and the other mob members they work with. "Think they'll trace it back to us?"

Practically laughing at the thought, Fish counters, "Hell no, how could they after all? They've got nothing on us, Butch. Cobblepot's in jail, they think the killer's dead, and that genius girl of theirs is out cold." she beaming at her work at this point, obnoxiously proud.

After thinking for a second, Butch asks, "How exactly is this going to help us take down Falcon? The man probably couldn't care less about the killer or the girl."

The smile on Fish's face disappears and turns into a cold stare. "Jim Gordon, that's why. He's distracting Falcon and keeping us from our plan, keeping us from acting. We distract him with this, hit him close to home. Then, we're going to break him so he can't get in the way again," Fish explains in a dangerous tone.

With a sigh, James pulls the car out of its parked position outside Ed's apartment. It's almost sunset and the sky is turning orange as James drives back to the hospital. He struggles to focus on the road as his mind is invaded with thousands of worries.

Soon, the detective is sighing in relief at the sight of the hospital ahead. James tries to push the thought further into the back of his head and focus on the road. He finally pulls into a parking space at the hospital once he arrives and sits for a minute, trying to regain himself. So many thoughts about Kira were running through his head, Ed having to pull the plug, the sight of the blonde when they first found her in the basement.

"Why the hell did it have to be her?" he yells in fury as he punches the top of the steering wheel in front of him. His upper body curls over as he puts his head in his hands, breathing heavily as he falls apart. "She never did anything, she never deserved this!" he protests silently, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "It was never supposed to end like this, it can't."

He sits like this for almost half an hour before looking at his watch to check the time. He attempts to regain himself before getting out of the car and walking through the front door. By this time, he's managed to wipe the tears away and put on a serious, cold work face. When he's about to start towards Kira's room, a nurse stops him.

"Excuse me, are you here for Kira Striker?" she asks. She seems worried and slightly confused, causing James to become the same way before nodding. "Well, she just woke up about twenty minutes ago," the nurse informs him. Instantly, James gets wide eyes and rushes to his younger partner's room.

Her doctor is there checking her vitals when he finally makes it to the room. Kira's teal eyes are open for the first time in over a week, but there's no light in them. Her face is pale and colorless. The face James has always seen so much joy in is now emotionless and scarred with sadness. Her naturally blushing cheeks are as pale as the rest of her. It's hadn't bothered James as much when she was still unconscious, but seeing her like this while she's awake kills him inside.

The doctor looks up at him in surprise. "Can I help you, officer?" he asks in a confused tone, noticing James's police badge still sticking out of his jacket. "The police that brought her in said the attackers were caught and the case is closed."

Looking down at his badge with the same surprise Kira's doctor has, James pauses before looking back up. "Oh no, I'm her partner, a friend wanted me to watch her while he went home to sleep," James clarifies. Cautiously, he walks further into the room, scared that virtually anything could scare the injured girl.

"Of course," the doctor says, realizing what's going on in front of him. He takes one last sample of blood and tells James, "That should be all for now, I'll leave you two to chat." The doctor walks out with his samples, leaving James alone with Kira.

Pulling a chair up to the bed and sitting down, James holds one of Kira's hands as Ed had earlier. "I know your throat is in bad shape so I won't make you answer much," he starts as Kira looks over at him, happy to be able to freely move her head again. He swears he sees a small smile tug on the teal eyed girl's lips.

"The two men that have been going out and doing all this are dead. Committed suicide before we found you," James explains with a small sigh. He's not sure what to say, seeing as Kira always starts their conversations. "Ed was here earlier. He's been in here with you everyday this week."

He feels movement in his hand and looks down to see Kira trying to sign to him. He chuckles and tells her silently, "You know I don't know sign language, Kira." He looks back and grabs the pen and paper on the bedside table. "Think you could try writing?" He slips the pad of paper under her hand and the pen in between her fingers. "See what you can do with that?"

After a few minutes of getting used to using her hand again, Kira begins to write. Upon looking at the words, James finds a single word; _Cobblepot_. He looks up to find an expectant look on the blonde's face.

"Oswald's case," he starts, "haven't really done anything with it. We've been trying to settle this case." There's an unbelieving look in Kira's pale face as she practically glares at her partner. "Shut up," James orders, returning the glare.

James looks down at Kira's scribbling something else down. "He knows?" James questions with a confused look. Kira adds on another work, _Everything_. James just watches in pure confusion, wondering what his partner means by the phrase. "Kira, what are you trying to say?"

"Oswald." James's head shoots up in shock as he hears Kira speak. "He knows about the killer. He's not dead." Her voice is extremely quiet, as it is the only way she can keep it from being scratchy. "The killer is still out there, Jim." Her eyes have tears in them as the pain in her throat grows. When James sees this, he holds onto the girl's hand and she squeezes it in and attempt to ease her own pain.

Standing up and still hold onto her hand, James assures the blonde, "It's okay Kira; you're okay. Nothing's going to hurt you." He's brushing back strands of her blonde hair that are blocking Kira's teary, teal eyes. "Maybe you should get some more sleep." Kira shakes her head in pain. "God, where did you get all this strength from?" he asks, referring to the death grip Kira has on his hand. With that, he's being glared at again by Kira.

Footsteps enter the room and the two look up to see Harvey in the doorway. "What are you two up to?" he asks, trying to dismiss the pain on his face. His eyes are red and he looks tired. You can tell he's been drinking the whole week and its finally caught up to him. "Trying to beat up the kid, Jim?"

"Thought you said you weren't going to come?" James counters in confusion. The terrible looking man in front of them just frowns and doesn't answer. He seems guilty and sad. "Are you drunk, Harvey?"

Stepping up to James, Harvey replies, "No, I'm not actually. I wanted to see her" He gestures to Kira before looking down at the blonde. From his perspective, Kira seems to be the smallest he's ever see her. She looks so small, fragile, childlike. "How are you doing, Kid?"

Picking her pencil back up, Kira writes on her pad of paper, _Been better_. Harvey chuckles when he reads it. Reading further up the page, he notices what Kira had written during her conversation with Jim. "What's all that?" he asks, "What's going on with Cobblepot?" He looks up at James with a warning look, wanting answers here and now.

James's arms cross over his chest with a sigh. "Apparently, Collins and Frank aren't the killers and Cobblepot, who we've had locked up for the past week and a half or so, knows who the real killer," he informs Harvey. "We were supposed to be looking into the case but then this popped up and we couldn't take care of it."

Kira very hoarsely calls out her partners' names. They both instantly shut up and turn to the blonde. "Who you idiots please just go question him?" she asks in her small voice. Her tone is warning the two against arguing with her. If there's anyone who can kick your ass while dying in a hospital bed, it's Kira Striker. "Go."

With a set of nods, the two leave the hospital room after James assures Kira he'll be back soon. Climbing into their own cars, James and Harvey drive back to the station to complete the orders given to them by Kira. Now the real challenge, how are they supposed to get straight answers from a mobster, and not just any mobster, Cobblepot?

Unfortunately, they don't have much time to ponder the idea as they are back to the station much sooner than expected. Of course, their first thing on the list, get Oswald out and into the interrogation. He'd be lying if Harvey said this isn't his favorite part. "Ready?" he asks James as they walk up to the cells with a set of keys. When James finally nods, he unlocks the door to Oswald's cell. "Alright, your turn, Cobblepot."

The man inside looks up at the two, a sinister smirk on his face as he does. "Finally."


End file.
